Atlas Sound Equipped Geep Performance Improvements?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I've been experiencing some rather frustrating behavior from one of my Atlas sound equipped GP40s.

It has, what appears to be, incredibly bad pickup. It is constantly stalling out like its losing power but then will often come right back, often without moving it (like you'd expect if it were a wheel to rail contact problem).

It's like it has dirty wheels even though they've been thoroughly cleaned.

I tried taking it apart and checking the contact between the pins and the frame. That seemed to help, but only temporarily.

Anyone else having a similar issue? Have you fixed it?

[vermonter_railfan]

So first off, I've noticed the most recent runs of Atlas units come with extremely dirty wheels and Ive always had to clean mine. But since you have already done that my guess is the connections for the decoder. Some of the little copper tabs that touch the bottom of the decoders aren't always touching. Ive added a small amount of solder to the pad contacts on the decoder to improve connection to the tabs on the motor/speaker

[davefoxx]

[M]y guess is the connections for the decoder. Some of the little copper tabs that touch the bottom of the decoders aren't always touching. Ive added a small amount of solder to the pad contacts on the decoder to improve connection to the tabs on the motor/speaker

This is where I’d check next, too.  Typical N scale decoder contact issues.  There are some things about N scale that I just don’t miss.

DFF

[GGNInNScale]

Try this-  carefully pull the decoder.  Take a small soldering pencil at a temperature just enough to melt the solder.  Put a touch of rosin flux on the 4 main contact pads on the decoder.  Then, melt a very small amount of solder onto the tip of the iron.  Then, a quick touch of the tip to the pad, just enough to flow a bit of solder onto the pads.  Then, scrape a bit of the solder off with an Xacto knife (kind of shave it off a bit, not all).  Then, remount the decoder.  You will need a bit of force- use a small screwdriver like a pry bar on the frame to SLOWLY force the decoder into position.  This will fix the intermittent issues.
Another thing you can do is to drill holes in the bottom of the fuel tank (remove the speaker first).   This helps a bit with sound emission.   I did this on two units.

[spookshow]

Be sure to check the axle cups for gunk - a common problem with Atlas locos.

-Mark

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Lol, so I did a bunch of these solutions and was still having issues.

"It can't be the wheels, right?"

Cleaned them again and it was amazing how much gunk came off them. Even after I had cleaned them.

So what did I learn? Even if you've cleaned the wheels, clean them again.

[OldEastRR]

I think what you really learned is Atlas locos don't come close to Kato ones in performance and construction .

[peteski]

I think what you really learned is Atlas locos don't come close to Kato ones in performance and construction .

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree!

Ed, replacing the Atlas wheelsets with Kato would dramatically improve performance. But it is not a drop-in replacement. Axle length of Kato wheelsets has to be shortened slightly. See https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=33107.msg596466#msg596466

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I think what you really learned is Atlas locos don't come close to Kato ones in performance and construction .

I don't know, I haven't seen a Kato model yet with factory equipped DCC, let alone sound.

[squirrelhunter]

Yeah, the Kato locos run nice but are generally behind the times in terms of DCC/Sound and are failing behind on paint/detailing (esp the SD40-2, but also their E and F units).

I get that their home market doesn't do DCC/Sound but the rest of the world is heading that way.

[mu26aeh]

I don't know, I haven't seen a Kato model yet with factory equipped DCC, let alone sound.

That's because each time you step up, DC to DCC and DCC to DCC Sound, it's $100 more.  Why is DCC installed costing $100 more when a drop in decoder can be bought for $35 or less ?

https://katousa.com/n-sd70mac/

[Ed Kapuscinski]

That's because each time you step up, DC to DCC and DCC to DCC Sound, it's $100 more.  Why is DCC installed costing $100 more when a drop in decoder can be bought for $35 or less ?

https://katousa.com/n-sd70mac/

Yeah, because they insist on doing each one as a custom install instead of making it a factory thing.

[Lackawannae8]

Do you have a DC micro style dummy board to test with dc power? if not ill give one to your dad to hand off next time I see him. did you check the wired truck connections for good hot solder connection? I've fixed about a half doz already that were poorly soldered on